Ghost Adventures in Sportsman's
by PurpleKorea134
Summary: Kal is a skeptic when it comes to things ghostly and paranormal, but when the Ghost Adventures crew visits her place of work, Sportstman's Warehouse, and decides to have her investigate the store with them in one of their lockdowns, her beliefs are tested... and changed. (Inspired by the Travel Channel show "Ghost Adventures," starring Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, and Aaron Goodman.)
1. Chapter 1

_Hi, everyone! I'm veering away from my normal romance stories that I usually post for a moment... So, this is a fanfic about a show that I find quite interesting and entertaining, and one that I couldn't find on this sight... Ghost Adventures! It's about these three guys - Zak, Nick and Aaron - going to the most haunted places in the US, and they investigate the paranormal activity in those places._ _I love this show, mainly because I have a morbid curiosity with the paranormal and ghosts and things like that, and the three guys make the show so entertaining to watch, despite the ghostly stuff. This is just a fun little story about the Ghost Adventures crew (GAC) going to Sportsman's Warehouse (which is actually my place of work XD) and doing a side investigation there. For their lockdown (they spend one whole night in a location, and they call it a lockdown because they are locked in for that whole night), they pull in one of the skeptics who works at the store, and she is shocked at what she experiences._

_This story only has two parts, so that makes this the shortest story I've posted on this sight haha. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Part 1 - The Agreement**

This is ridiculous. There is no such thing as ghosts.

I watched as all my coworkers were surrounding the Ghost Adventures crew that happened to walk into the store, talking with them, asking them questions and taking pictures with them. I would join them, it's just I'm not a big fan of this crew. They search for things you can't even see, things that aren't there. My sister Ash always watches their show, but I steer clear of it because I think it's all hokey.

"Kal, c'mon!" my coworker Shannon, a fellow cashier, said and made an arm gesture that told me to come over to the group. I leaned off of the counter near the register I was manning and walked over, my arms folded. The store was open, it being mid-day in mid-February, and it was in the teens outside, so it wasn't busy whatsoever. In fact, there may be only one customer in the store. I might as well. I didn't have to worry about making someone wait at my register

"Yeah, I've totally seen him," I heard as I walked into the conversation. I met one of the crew members eyes, the buff one, but then he looked away and looked at Chris, one of the hunting managers, who just spoke.

"So there really is something going on here," said the guy who I met eyes with. I think he's the host, or the leader of the group. I tucked some of my wavy brown hair behind my ear. The guy's really, well, the only word that comes to mind is _hot_.

"There sure is," said our office manager Jess, who was thirty-five, five years older than myself, and who had brown hair like me, only it was always pulled up into a bun the top of her head. "I've seen him, too. Like one day, about a year ago, I was opening with Joshua here, early in the morning around seven, and I was in the back in receiving. That's when I heard footsteps and I turned and saw this figure in the shadows near the door where our shipments come through. He noticed that I saw him, and he walked on right through the wall."

"I remember you freaking out about that after that happened," commented Joshua, our store manager who was two years younger than me—he's the youngest store manager for Sportsman's Warehouse in the state of Idaho. "You came back to the front extremely pale, and you were shouting that you saw something strange back there."

"Wait, so you saw a full-body apparition?" asked the same buff guy again, and I rolled my eyes.

Jess nodded. "I sure did, but it was more a shadow figure. It scared the living spit outta me. I don't like going to the back into receiving for that reason."

"Wait, so that's why you always refused to come to the back when I needed you for something, and you would just send Joshua?" asked our receiving manager Ned. "I just thought you didn't like me."

"Who does?" Leo, one of the guys who worked in camping, joked and nudged him, and Ned shoved him. The two guys laughed.

"Who's the man, do you think?" asked the host, whose name I suddenly remembered is Zak since Ash has gushed about him before, mainly for his looks. And rightfully so. "The one that you saw that morning?"

"I don't know," said Chris, and he rubbed his brown beard. "We sell firearms, ammo, arrows, knives, tent stakes... it could be anyone who had an unfortunate accident with one of them."

"We actually had the police come and ask us questions about one man who was shot with a gun that we sold, and with ammo from this store as well," said Joshua. "They needed verification that he was indeed in this store and bought the gun and ammo legally and properly."

"Seriously?" asked one of the guys who works at the gun counter, Joey, who was in his early-twenties. "Hopefully it wasn't me who sold him that gun."

"When was this?" asked Zak.

"About a year-and-a-half ago," Joshua answered.

"Then that apparition might have been him. Has anything else that seemed paranormal happen here that you guys know about?"

The group became silent for a moment, then someone spoke up...

"I've heard voices, too, when I come into work early in the morning, and no one is in my area of the store," said Mandy, our only inventory person. "I come in at seven, and when the two opening managers are up in the front prepping the registers, I hear whispers near my desk, which is way in the back of the store."

"Whispers?" asked another of the crew, the bald one. Ash told me about him, too, yet I couldn't remember his name. Maybe his name is Adam? Aaron? "What do they say?"

"I can't understand what they're saying most of the time," said Mandy. "My desk is right above the receiving area, so I'm guessing it's the man that Jess saw. I'm pretty sure it's a man who was whispering."

"Psht," I scoffed, and the group of a dozen people looked at me, and that included the two girls how were working the customer service, which we were standing next to. "What?"

"Kal's a skeptic," Jess told the Ghost Adventures crew. "She laughed when I told her about the apparition, and said that it was just matrixing and such."

"If I don't see it, I don't believe it," I said with a shrug of my shoulder. "Plus, shadow figures? Really?"

"But you've heard those whispers I've told you about," Mandy refuted. "Back when you came to help me out that one morning."

"I heard the air system, and I think that's what you heard, too."

"We love skeptics," said Zak, and he turned to face me. I noticed his brown, determined eyes. "I think you should come with us for one of our lockdowns."

"What? Oh no fair..." Leo enthused, his browns creasing.

"Thanks, but I'll pass," I said.

"It's a lot of fun," said the bald crew member, and the other guy with them nodded in agreement. What was is name? Nick?

"Where are you guys going next?" asked Jess.

"Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise," Zak said. "We're super excited about it. But, I think we can take a detour along the way. We can do a spontaneous lockdown here. What do you all say?"

"Heck yeah!" most exclaimed, and other cheered.

"Oh my gosh..." I muttered, not believing that this was happening. I notice Zak turning to face me again.

"Seriously, we want you to join in this one. It's always fun to have skeptics join us on lockdowns and see their opinions change."

"I'll pass," I said again.

"I guarantee that you'll start believing in spirits once you join us on one of our lockdowns, and why not do one at the very store you work at?"

"C'mon, Kal, do it," Shannon begged, holding onto my arm.

Everyone was looking at me, waiting for my answer yet again, and I felt an uncomfortable heat creep up my neck. I met Zak's brown eyes, and I could see in them that he was serious about this. I huffed through my nose. "Okay, fine."

I didn't know just what I got myself into.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2 - The Lockdown**

Two days passed and I found myself coming in two hours after closing time, which is at eight in the winter months, and snow was falling off of my jacket. I saw the Ghost Adventures crew, along with Jess and Joshua, standing out near the registers and where we have all our snacks and candies.

"Hey, there she is," Zak said to me, and I really could not help but check him out—he had on black, baggy jeans, but he wore a black, skin hugging t-shirt that showed how toned he was, and also showed the biceps of his arm, where there was a tattoo of something on his left arm. His hair was also gelled up in a cool 'do. _Dang. _"You ready for this, Kal?"

I jumped out of my thoughts and cleared my throat. I walked up to the five of them, not leaving Zak's gaze. "As I'll ever be, I guess."

"Hey, Zak, come here for a second, bro," said Aaron—I found out his name after Googling the group after going home that day. Ash naturally freaked out when I told about this on the phone, and she made me swear that I would get an autograph and picture with the crew. Zak went over to Aaron and I stood with my store manager and office manager.

"I'm so jealous of you," Jess said.

"I thought you were scared spit-less about whatever you saw back there."

"Yeah, but you get to be on the show, and you get to spend a full night with Zak."

"What are you saying?"

She gave me a sly look and nudged my arm playfully. "You know what I'm saying. Part of the reason you agreed to do this is because you think he's hot."

She rose her brows, waiting for my answer. I slipped my navy-blue winter jacket and black gloves off and hung my jacket over my shoulder. I leaned in and whispered, "Yeah, okay, so he's pretty hot. But I agreed to do this just so I can prove to them that this is all hokey."

"I think you'll have the opposite opinion when the night's through," said Joshua. "Have you seen their show? They get some pretty believable stuff. Stuff that can really make you afraid to turn off the lights."

"Yeah, I've see it," I said to my blonde store manager, "but I still just believe it's all hokey."

"Hey," Zak said as he came over with Aaron and Nick. They had one more person to their crew, but he was in the cash office setting up all their equipment, like cameras where they can keep track of what's going on in the lockdown. "We were looking at some footage since Aaron thought he heard something, but we ended up hearing this instead."

"It's pretty awesome," Aaron said, and we all leaned and watched the small screen on Nick's camera. We saw me, Jess and Joshua talking, and I just said that I wanted to prove that all this is hokey. We heard a whisper in between me saying that and what Jess said after.

"Did you hear that?" Zak asked.

"I heard it," Jess said.

"Me, too," said Joshua.

"Listen again," Zak said and played it again. We heard that whisper again and my eyes widened. Zak noticed. "You heard that, right, Kal? The disembodied voice?"

I didn't want to admit it, but I confessed, "Yes, I did. But it could have been the air."

"We turned the air off," Jess said.

My heart jumped. Seriously? Zak played it again, and again, we heard the whisper. Zak said, "It sounds like 'You're wrong' in a male voice. He's responding to you saying this is hokey."

"Man, he's letting you know that it's definitely not hokey," Aaron said in laughter.

Zak played it again, and I huffed. "Okay, okay, so it sounds like that. But there could be a reasonable explanation for that."

"Or it could be a ghost of someone who was killed with one of the weapons in the store," Aaron said, and I rolled my eyes.

"There's something that I forgot to mention the other day when we were all talking," Jess said, and that brought on the attention of the crew. "About three years ago, one of our employees passed away."

"Really?" Zak asked, interested. "You had an employee pass away?"

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Do you mind me asking what happened to this employee?"

"Not at all. His name was Kyle Mason, and he was one of our gun counter guys. He passed away suddenly of a heart attack three years ago last September. He was only thirty-two."

"Wow, thirty-two?"

"Yes, it shocked everyone—it was completely out of the blue. Sometimes, I think that the person that I saw that time in receiving was Kyle. He loved working here, and we loved him."

"So, he may still be here roaming around, working like normal, being around the people who he loved."

"I think so."

I turned to face Jess, and I felt my chest start to ache from the painful memory of Kyle's death. "You think that man you saw was Kyle? Then why are you scared to go back there?"

"I was spooked, and you never know if it was someone, or something, else."

"We'll find out who it was," Zak assured her. He turned to Aaron. "Let's put a static night vision camera in the receiving area, as well as at the gun counter. We'll try and see whoever showed himself to Jess, and hopefully we can communicate with him."

I hated that we were talking about Kyle. I thought that my coworkers didn't mention him the other day because it was just too painful to mention him since everyone loved him, as Jess said. I don't even like thinking that he's gone. Others would say differently, but Kyle was a little sweet on me. He wasn't married and didn't have a girlfriend, and he was cute. And kind, and friendly... just what you want in a man. I think I was the one who took his death the hardest. Only Jess knew that I cried myself to sleep every night for a week after his sudden death. I felt her rub my back as the guys were talking about where else to put their night vision cameras.

"Alright, I think that we're ready to be locked down," Zak told us. "This isn't going to be like a normal episode, this is more like a side investigation."

"So I'm not going to be in the show?" I asked hopefully, and trying to get over the emotion I was feeling a minute ago.

"Unfortunately, no. If this was a normal episode, we would be doing interviews and walking around the store and such."

"So this a 'for fun' lockdown?" Jess asked.

"In a way, yes. We sometimes do them off-camera."

"Then why are the cameras rolling?" I asked.

"To capture what we get, and we can post it on the Travel Channel website, and we can give you guys a copy as well," Zak said with a smile. "Now, you ready for this, Kal?"

"As I'll ever be, I suppose. I'm already here."

I heard Aaron mutter to Nick, "Man, she does not want to be here." I felt a bit of irritation prick my chest at that.

Jess and Joshua went on and shut the lights off and lock the doors. After dropping my jacket, purse and gloves on the customer service counter, I stood in the darkness with the crew, folding my arms tightly around my torso. I may be a skeptic about all this ghost stuff, but I still don't like the dark. At least I'm with three grown men who have done this a few times, with one of them being rather buff and attractive.

No, I shouldn't think that about Zak. I need to focus, mainly so I don't run into stuff in the dark and break my ankle.

"Alright, Kal, we're going to give one of our night vision cameras so you can see where you're going, okay?" I heard Zak say, and I smelled intoxicating cologne near me, and I felt his presence. He must be standing right in front of me. "Here."

He placed the camera in my hands and I held the little thing up and looked into the small screen that was maybe two times bigger than my smartphone screen. I saw what was in front of me, but in black and green lighting. My brows lifted. "This is kinda cool."

"Isn't? Okay, Aaron, why don't you go place a camera over in the receiving area, and we'll go place one over at the gun counter?"

"Sure thing, bro," Aaron said and I heard footsteps walking away.

"Okay, let's head in the direction of the gun counter," Zak said, and we started walking through the camping section on the left side of the store. "Is there anyone here? Maybe the man who was accidentally killed a couple years ago? If you're here, let us know."

I rolled my eyes at that, but I knew that's what Zak and these guys do. I've seen the show before, a few times mind you, so I know how they work. I might as well let them do their job.

"Kyle, if you're here, let us know."

Until he does that. I spoke up. "Do we really need to ask for Kyle?"

I saw on my little night vision screen that Zak turned around to face me, and I saw Nick off to the side stop as well. His fancy camera sat on his right shoulder. Zak asked in a kind tone, "Don't you want your friend to say hello to you? It could bring a little bit of comfort."

"I just..." I started, but stopped. "Nevermind. Go ahead."

Zak was silent for a moment, then, "Hey Nick, why don't you go head and find the gun counter, and we'll meet you there?"

"Got it," Nick said and he was off after Zak handed him the camera to place at the gun counter. I felt Zak stand near me. Not close, but close enough to know he was there, and I could smell him.

"Were you and Kyle close, Kal?" he asked softly.

I felt that emotion from before grip my throat a little. "He was a good friend. I... well, I guess I believe that when you're gone, you're gone. I don't believe that after people die, their spirits come back they try to communicate with you. I know you guys believe in something different since you do this for a living, but..."

I trailed off. I didn't want to say anything else because I think he got the picture. "I understand. And I respect your beliefs."

"Thank you. And... well, you can do your job. Don't mind me."

"I won't call for Kyle if you're not comfortable with it, but I can't help it if he tries to make some type of communication."

I nodded, liking that he was at least a bit respectful. "Okay. And..."

"Shh," Zak said, and I stopped what I was going to say. "Sorry, but I thought I heard something."

"One of the other guys?"

"No, it was right next to my ear. Like a whisper. I couldn't make out what it said, though." He moved away from me. "Is someone trying to communicate with us? Did someone say something?" Silence, but I heard one of the other guys' voices in the distance. "I'm gonna try my digital recorder." I put up my camera and saw that he got a little silver gadget out. "This little device has super sensitive speakers, so it will pick up things that we can't hear."

I knew that. I remained silent and watched Zak through my little screen—it was the only means by which I would not run into things.

"Is someone here?" Zak asked again, and again, silence. My heart started racing, and I was wondering why it was. It had to be the darkness, and not my nearness with a hot guy and being alone with him in the dark at the moment. But why am I scared of the dark when I don't believe in ghosts? Maybe it's just the unknown that I don't like. Like, I don't know exactly what's in front of me, or what I'm walking by, other than what I see on the tiny night vision screen.

"Okay, I'm gonna play this back and see if we captured and EVP, or electric voice phenomenon," Zak said and he came over to me. "Listen."

He pushed a button the little device and we listened, but other than Zak talking, I just heard static. A few seconds passed, and then suddenly, something came through. I gasped.

"There, right there," Zak said. "I'll play it again. Listen carefully."

I listened, and again, I heard someone say something. My mouth dropped open. "I heard, 'Heart stop.'"

"Oo, good ear. I'll play it again." He did so, and the whisper played again. "Yeah, I think you're right. He said 'Heart stop.' Wait, Kyle passed away from a heart attack, right?"

I refused to believe that that voice could be Kyle's. "Yeah, but..." I couldn't think of any other way to explain this. "It didn't sound like Kyle."

"Maybe it was another spirit who knows what happened to him."

"Can I hear it again?"

"Sure."

He played it again, and I heard the whisper. "Maybe. I don't know."

"This is proof that there's someone here that said that, whether it be Kyle or not. It's someone who wants to communicate with us. Is anyone here? Are you Kyle or that man who was accidentally killed with a rifle that was bought here?" Silence for a good couple of minutes. "Okay. Let's keep on going and meet Nick at the gun counter. We might have more luck there."

"Okay."

We moved on, and eventually made it over to the gun counter and found Nick there, holding out the same gadget that Zak had. I saw on my little screen that he looked at us, his eyes glowing on the screen.

"Hey, man, you're not going to believe this," Nick said. "I just captured an EVP of a man, and I think he said 'Kal, hello.' No joke, man."

"Are you serious?" Zak asked, and I felt my chest pinch. "Play it."

We all stood near Nick as he played the recording. After a few seconds, we heard a male voice come through, and I gasped when I heard it as clear as day. Tears stung my eyes. I recognized that voice.

"Oh my gosh..." I let out.

"What?" Zak asked. "Do you recognize the voice who said your name?"

I shook my head, not believing this. "It has to be a coincidence."

"Was it Kyle?"

I was silent for a moment, and I knew that I couldn't be in denial again when I heard it with my own ears. "It... sounded like his voice."

"Are you serious, it sounded like him?" Zak asked. "Out of all of us, only you would know what he voice sounds like."

I leaned against the gun counter and stared off into the darkness. I cleared my throat as emotion gripped it. I muttered, "No way..."

"Kyle, is that you?" Zak asked. "Did you just say hello to Kal? Can you say something else to us, or maybe make a noise?"

Silence. Silence for maybe two minutes. Zak asked me, "Kal, why don't you stay here with a recorder and we can see if Kyle wants to communicate with just you? If you're alone, he's more likely to make himself known."

"You want me to stay here by myself?" I asked with an edge. "No way."

"It will be okay, I promise. If you get scared, just shout, and we'll come running, okay?"

Didn't he get that I didn't want to do this? "Fine."

"Okay. Ask some questions. Spirits respond when you ask questions or when you talk to them."

"Okay."

The two guys left, and I suddenly felt very uncomfortable and very vulnerable. According to Ash, when she watched the show, usually the people who are the most scared or the most vulnerable get the most activity. She laughed and said that Aaron usually gets put into the scariest rooms and such because he gets the most scared out of all of them. And because of that, he gets more activity.

Now I really wish I didn't want to prove these guys wrong.

I stood there, leaning against the counter. I cleared my throat, and not believing that I was doing so, I said quietly as to not confuse the guys, "Hey, Kyle. I really miss you. Why did you have to leave so suddenly? I... I was hoping you would ask me out, but that never happened."

There was more silence.

"This is so ridiculous."

I waited for what seemed like twenty minutes, and there was nothing, just my heart pounding through me ears. I heard the guys talking elsewhere in the store, and Aaron freak out about something, but other than that, nothing.

Zak's voice filled the store for a second a few minutes later, like he shouted at something, but then it went quiet. I snickered. "These guys, seriously... Ash said they can be such wussies sometimes, and they react to everything."

Something bushed my arm and I gasped. "What the..." I felt a tap on my shoulder. I screamed.

Zak's voice was suddenly heard saying, "Go, go, go!" and I heard footsteps as the guys made it back to me. My body shook, and my heart pounded, hard. I was shaking my head rapidly, not wanting to believe that I was touched by nothing.

"What happened?" Zak demanded, and I didn't know if one or two of the other guys were with him since I placed the night vision camera on the counter. "What's wrong?"

"I swear, I was touched. Twice."

"Whoa, really?"

"Yeah. I felt something brush my arm, and then like right after, something tapped me on the shoulder, and I screamed."

Zak went right to business. "Who just touched Kal? Kyle, was that you?" Silence for a minute. "Let's check the recorder."

I heard Zak handle the one he gave me and clicked a button, and only one set of footsteps were heard walking up to us. It was probably Nick. We listened to static, and then what I said before I was touched—I didn't want to think about what they guys thought about what I said. After I said it, though, a whisper came through.

"Whoa, did you hear that?" Zak exclaimed. "Listen again."

He played it again, and again, the voice came in faintly. It was the same voice as before. I wanted to burst into tears, not just because that was possibly Kyle's voice beyond the grave, but because I was scared spit-less now.

"It sounded like, 'I'm sorry,'" Nick said. "I think he was responding to you, Kal."

"Yeah, he was saying he was sorry for not asking you out," said Zak.

I didn't want to say anything, mainly since my voice would come out cracked. I turned away from them and walked away a few feet, trying not to cry. That was Kyle's voice. I've heard him say he was sorry when he was alive, and... it sounded exactly like the way he said it, in that drawn out tone.

I suddenly felt something in my hair. I screamed again, and ran in a random direction, and I ran into something. A sturdy and strong something that radiated that nice cologne. "Whoa, hey, Kal, you okay?"

I ran into Zak. His hands took my shoulders, and my head leaned into his firm chest, and I let my emotions get the better of me. My chest spasmed painfully and I let out a whimper, then several more.

"Hey, get the camera away," Zak ordered, and I heard footsteps walking away. My chest ached and hot tears filled my eyes and soaked the material of Zak's shirt. He had a firm grip on my shoulders, but one hand slid to the back of my head and he started stroking my hair. It didn't calm me all that well.

"Hey, you going to be okay?"

I didn't respond, at least not vocally. I let out another whimper as I clung onto his shirt and I shook my head. I felt his arm wrap around my back, and he hugged me to him while stoked my hair, and I felt his hot breath on my ear. I haven't been held like this in a long time, not by a man. A hot man. I started to calm down a little bit, and I leaned out of his warm hold.

"You alright?" he asked in a gentle voice.

"I... don't know. I'm... really freaked out right now."

"It's okay."

His hand on my head moved, which brought his fingers through my hair. I completely stepped away from him, since that little gesture reminded me of what just happened. "I... was touched again. I felt fingers moving through my hair, just like you did just now. It really felt like a hand moving through my hair."

I took a deep breath try to alleviate my emotions. Zack said calmly, "I think Kyle is really trying to let you know that he's here." He paused. "So... you two were closer than you said."

"What I said was true, just... I knew he was sweet on me, and I was sweet on him, too, and I thought he was going to ask me out, but he just didn't. On that horrible morning, I was ready to talk to him about it, but..."

"He passed away before either of you could confess to each other."

"Yeah. We knew we liked each other... I don't know what we were doing, avoiding going out."

I felt Zak stand near me. "Now he's letting you know that he wanted to go out with you. Maybe he was planning on asking that day, but he wasn't able to. Now he's trying to do what he wasn't able to when he was alive. Something that powerful and emotional can keep spirits bound to a place."

"Maybe. I don't know."

"I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Kal."

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me do so. "Thank you."

Some silence passed, then I heard one of the guys shout, "Whoa! Oh my gosh, dude!"

"That was Aaron," Zak said. "Let's go."

I took the night vision camera and tailed Zak, trying to recuperate from what just happened to me and between us. When we got to the receiving area, we saw Aaron and Nick there over by the doors that we open to allow our freight to come through from the truck. Bot men noticed us arrive.

"What's up?" Zak asked them.

"I just caught an EVP and something on the night vision camera. It's intense, dude." Aaron held out the little recorder and played it. I heard a whisper. "It sounds like it said 'Love you.'"

"Are you serious, man?" Zak asked. "Play it again."

He did so, and we all listened. This time, I heard the "Love you." I saw in my night vision camera that all the guys looked at me. I might as well tell them. "It didn't sound like Kyle, but that was a man's voice."

"I think it was totally him," Aaron disagreed. "And he was telling you that he loves you. Did you guys have a thing or something?"

"Not really."

"Kal received an EVP earlier that said 'I'm sorry,' right after she said that she wanted him to ask her out," Nick said.

"Then she was touched, _three_ times, right in a row," Zak added. "She felt fingers running through her hair one of those times."

"Whoa, seriously, dude?" Aaron asked.

"I think we're dealing with the spirit of Kyle here, and he's here because of a girl he was once in love with."

I didn't like that theses three guys knew more about my personal life, more than anyone should, but the notion that Kyle was in love with me, not just an infatuation or crush, really started to sink in. If he hadn't have passed away, we would be dating right now, or possibly married. I lowered my camera so I couldn't see anything.

"Gosh, Kyle, why did you have to die?" I whined. I heard Zak mutter to one of the guys to start one of the recorders. "Why, Kyle?"

I whimpered, but no one came over to comfort me like Zak did earlier. When it was silent for a good while, I heard Zak ask, "Aaron, what did you catch on the camera?"

"It's pretty awesome, dude. Look at this."

I saw light from a small screen and both Aaron and Zak watching it. Zak's face suddenly filled with surprise. "Whoa, did you see that?!"

"I know, right?"

"Kal, come here and look at this," Zak beckoned and I did so. I looked at the screen and saw the empty receiving area on the screen, but then something flashed across the screen, like a shadow.

"Holy...!" I exclaimed.

"You saw that, right?" Zak asked. "It was a shadow that flashed across the screen."

"I saw it."

"And the most interesting thing about this is that the 'Love you' EVP came at the same time as that shadow figure," Aaron said. "I think we just saw Kyle, and I think that Jess saw him, too, that time. Didn't one of the other guys say that he saw him, too?"

"Yeah," said Zak. "I think we're dealing with Kyle here."

"And I do, too, shockingly," I said, and I knew all eyes were on me, whether they be physical eyes or spiritual ones. "I guess in my effort to prove you guys wrong, _I_ was proven wrong."

"Yes!" Aaron exclaimed. "Mission accomplished."

"Yeah, and remember that EVP that said you were wrong right after you said that this was all hokey?" Nick asked. "Well, they were right."

I nodded. "I admit that they were, whoever 'they' is. I jus... I want to get out of here. I've had enough excitement for one night."

"Okay," Zak said. "Hey, I'm going to bring Kal up to the front. You guys continue rolling and using the digital recorders."

"Got it," Aaron said. "Hey, it was cool meeting ya, Kal."

"Yeah, you guys, too. I have no idea how you all do this all the time, and in places scarier than here."

"Practice," Nick said. "Hey, we'll see ya. It was nice doing this with you. You really brought on some intense activity."

"Yeah..."

Zak and I commenced walking up to the front, and we both had a night vision camera. We were walking near the camo clothing and gift bar area where the expensive knives and binoculars and such were located when Zak said, "So, you're pretty convinced now, huh?"

"Yeah, I am. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. Actually, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep for the next week."

"Yeah, I know how that is. This is nothing compared to what we've done so far. And we haven't even been to too many places yet. We're still in our first season."

"How many seasons do you think you'll have?"

"Well, just as long as there are haunted places to investigate..."

He didn't need to finish since I knew what he was saying. "So... this show is pretty much never-ending, huh?"

Zak chuckled. "Yeah, probably. We're headed to the Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise next. We're doing that one in a couple days."

"You have fun with that. It doesn't sound like a pleasant place."

"That's why we're going there. We really love going to those creepy places that any normal person would stay far away from. It's in those places that we get the most evidence and experience the most activity. It's actually pretty fun doing what we do."

"You get scared, don't you?"

"Yeah, I admit that I personally do, but I just keep on doing this because I think it's really fulfilling, giving these poor wondering souls closure, as well as the people who have encountered them."

I shook my head in disbelief. "I'm sorry, but... I think you guys are crazy for doing what you do, even if there is a good side to it."

He chuckled. "Yeah, a lot of people think we're crazy, but we keep on doing it anyway."

We reached the front of the store and went into the customer service. We went back into the cash office where the other member of the crew was. He was a stout blonde man with not much hair and had a beard starting. "Hey, Billy," Zak greeted him in the small room. "Have you seen anything?"

"Just what Aaron saw. Other than that, we heard faint shuffles near the gun counter when Kal was there, and we heard the EVPs that you guys picked up."

"You heard shuffling near me?" I asked with a squeakiness to my voice. "When no one else was around?"

"Yeah, I did."

"I didn't hear anything."

Billy rewound the video and we listened in. I heard shuffling as I was seen standing there. I got goosebumps. "Oh my gosh, I was brushed, poked, a hand ran through my hair, I was talked to, all by nothing... and now this. I'm so outta here."

"This guy must have been really into you," Billy commented. "You were a good trigger object tonight."

I knew what that meant from what Ash told me—something that lures the spirits in. "Right. Well, I should get going. It was nice meeting you."

"You, too."

I left the room and walked into the back of customer service where we store the candy and snacks that we put up front, as well as the lay-a-ways, online orders, and extra stock, like printer paper, sign paper, work vests... The room lighted on its own since it's motion censored. I stood near to where are lay-a-ways are stored on a shelf. I folded my arms and took a deep breath.

"You going to be okay?" I heard Zak ask from behind me after I heard him shut the door to the cash office.

"Yeah, I just... need a minute. The stuff that happened... I've never experienced that before. I've never been more scared in my life."

I imagined Zak nodding. "Yeah, it was like that for me when I had my first paranormal experience."

"You coming face-to-face with a ghost? I remember that from your show opening."

"Yeah. It freaked me out, but it became the start to wanting to learn more about the other side, about these souls that are trying to communicate with us, but have a hard time doing so."

I nodded. "All your fancy equipment really helps with that. It's shocking how well those things work. That voice... I would know it anywhere. It was him."

"He really wanted to communicate something to you, and he succeeded. Now you know how he really felt about you."

I felt my throat catch. "Yeah. Um... sorry for what happened earlier. You know, after I felt the hand in my hair."

I heard him take a couple steps closer as my back was to him. "Hey, it's okay. You were scared. You've never experienced anything like that before."

I turned to face him, and I couldn't help but notice his attractiveness. "And you guys are used to that."

"Yeah. A little too used to it."

I cracked a smile, and I saw that he did, too. I suddenly felt heat rush up my neck out of embarrassment. I looked down at my black and white Under Armour sneakers. "Gosh, I probably look like a mess right now, after balling like I did earlier. Sorry again about that, and... thanks for comforting me."

"You're welcome, Kal. And... I really think that you brought Kyle some peace. He's probably wanted to tell you how he felt for a while, he just didn't know how to until now."

I nodded, then snickered. "I guess your investigation turned into a romance because of me."

He snickered as well as we just stood there for a moment, and I was glad for the lighter atmosphere. I noticed that Zak was staring at me. "Kal, um... I don't normally say this to people that we do our investigations with, but I don't blame Kyle for being crazy about you. You're brave, you have spunk, you have a streak of fire and determination that made you want to prove us wrong, and to top it all off, you're beautiful. No guy would be able to resist that, dead or alive."

I tucked some wavy brown hair behind my ear sheepishly, and I felt my cheeks fill with heat. "You... think I'm beautiful?"

"I do. And... I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't enjoy holding you earlier."

Zak Bagans, the host of this Ghost Adventures show, and is famous for it, is actually hitting on me! I smirked. "Well, I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't enjoy you holding me as well."

We both chuckled at that, and stood there for a moment longer, a little awkwardly. Zak said, "Well, I should be getting back to the guys."

"Yeah, probably. And I should get going, too. Gosh, I'm never going to see this place the same way again."

"That means we did our job right, as well as the people we were communicating with."

"Yeah."

W e walked out into the customer service, which was dark like the rest of the store. After I got my jacket and gloves on, and slung my plum purple purse over my shoulder, Zak walked me out into the cold night, and we stood over near the statue of an elk in bushes, and a soft snow fell.

"So, thank you so much for joining us tonight," Zak said.

"Thank _you_ for inviting me and proving me wrong."

"It was the spirits who did that."

"Right."

We stood there for a moment longer, then, "So... do you think I could call you sometime just to see if you're still doing alright?"

I gave him a sly look. "Is that a roundabout way of asking for my number?"

He shrugged a shoulder and gave me a cute smile. "I guess so."

"I don't see anything wrong with that. Just don't ask me to join you when you investigate some creepy abandoned hospital or something."

"Noted."

We both got out our phones and exchanged numbers, then Zak wrapped me in a hug. "Get home safely, okay?"

"I will. Just as long as ghosts don't jump out in front of my car."

He chuckled and patted my back. "Thanks again for joining us."

We let go of each other and I admittedly missed the contact. The guy just felt so nice to hold onto. "Yeah. I'll see you around, Zak. Good luck."

"Thanks. See ya."

I walked away and around the corner of the building, and I heard Zak go back into the building. When I got to my car and got inside it, I sat in the driver's seat, staring out the windshield at the side of the building.

"That actually happened," I muttered, and then blew air out of my mouth. "Wow."

I started up the car and started heading back to my apartment, and I wished Zak was sitting next to me in the passenger's seat so he could give me some comfort, or just be there so I don't get scared. But... I can always remember the way he held me and how that felt to be held in a man's arms. Kyle may not be around to do that, but Zak sure could, if we end up meeting again.

Knowing that Kyle was in love with me but never voiced it, at least when he was alive, seemed irrelevant now, now that I have the attention of a really hot guy who is buff and tough, yet is really gentle and sweet.

And alive.

"Goodbye, Kyle. I loved you, too. I loved you from the moment you started training me four years ago."

I felt a slight brush on my right cheek, and I sucked in a breath. I let it out, not allowing myself to get scared.

"Thanks, Kyle."

I drove home, my beliefs changed about spirits. They're actually around us, and can let us know that they're there. We just need to be willing to notice them. And I did. I definitely did.


End file.
